


One Step Forward And Two Steps Back

by miss_grey



Series: What We Do In The Dark [16]
Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Angst, Blow Jobs, F/M, M/M, Masturbation, Oral Sex, Supernatural AU - Freeform, demon ron speirs, everyone is feeling protective okay, general hunting violence, hunter carwood lipton, hunter dick winters, just some hunters and their creature of the night boyfriends, vampire nix
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 03:12:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19123396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_grey/pseuds/miss_grey
Summary: Harry decides it's about time he meets this Lewis Nixon character.  Lip decides to spend some quality time with Ron.  And Dick has a lot to think about.





	One Step Forward And Two Steps Back

**Author's Note:**

> Hey ya'll. I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm going to be out of town for a week, so I won't be able to write or update. (Though I still love getting comments!) So here's a chapter to tide you over. :)

 

 

Dick woke with a pounding headache and the shrill ringing of his phone.  Again.  He heaved himself up and glanced at the screen.  _Harry._ Dick groaned.  “Hey, Harry.  What’s up?”

“You sound like shit.  I wake you up again?”

Dick frowned at the phone.  “Thanks for that, and yeah, you did.  You wanna tell me why, now?”

“Jeez, someone’s grumpy today.  I was calling because I have a case.  Ghoul, about two hours north of you.  I’m already headed there, but I could use some backup tonight.  I thought you might help me out, and ya know…bring Nix.”

Dick’s pulse jumped and his brain was filled with images, sounds, touches from the night before, pressed against the bathroom wall, with Nix ready to climb right inside of him.  “Uh… I’m not sure, Harry.”

“Come on, Dick.  You said to let you know when I was around, and I really wanna meet this guy.  I mean, if he has your approval, he’s gotta be one hell of a guy.  And anyway, reports say it’s just one ghoul.  Enough that I need backup, but definitely enough for you, me, and a vampire to handle.  You guys can be there and back before daybreak.  What do you say?”

Dick sighed heavily.  “I’ll have to ask Nix when he wakes up.  Do you have backup if we can’t make it?”

“I can always call Kitty, but like I said, I have ulterior motives here, Dick.  I wanna meet this Lewis Nixon character.”

“Alright.  Well, I’ll let you know when he wakes up.  If so, we’ll be there as soon as we can.”

“Thanks Dick.  Hope to see you tonight.  I’ll text the address.”

“Yeah, see you, Harry.”

Dick ended the call and stared down as an address popped up on the screen.  It was 3pm already, and Nix would be waking up soon.  Dick needed to get his act together before that happened, or he’d be screwed.  And he needed to talk to Lip. 

So, hauling himself out of bed and throwing some jeans and a t-shirt on, Dick wandered out into the living room, where Lip was busy doing something on his laptop.  Lip glanced up at him and smiled.  “Hey there, sleepy.  Nice of you to join the living.”

Dick frowned.  “Very funny.”  He slumped down onto the couch next to his best friend.  “What are you doing?”

“Hmmm?  Oh, just looking for some new cases.  The coven hasn’t bothered us in a few days and the demon doesn’t seem interested in making a move anytime soon, so I thought we could start looking for cases again.  You know, if you’re up for it.  I’ve been going a bit stir-crazy here, if I’m being honest.”

Dick nodded.  “Yeah, me too.  That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.  Harry called just a few minutes ago.  He’s got a case he’s working tonight a couple hours from here.  He wants me and Nix to go as his backup.”

Lip’s brows jumped.  “You and _Nix?_ ”

Dick huffed.  “Yeah.  He’s not very subtle.  He said he wanted to meet Nix.  He even admitted this was a ploy.  I just wanted to know if you were okay with that.”

Lip snorted.  “Sure.  Knock yourselves out.  It might be interesting, actually—the two of you hunting together.”

“You’ll be okay alone?”

“I’ll be fine.  I’ll call Ron and see if he’s free tonight.”

Dick smiled at his friend.  “You and Ron have been spending a lot of time with each other lately.  You must really like him.”

“I do.  He’s…different from anyone else I’ve met.  And he’s really sweet.”

“Well, I’m happy for you.  You’ll have to bring him around sometime.”

Lip quirked a brow.  “While we have a vampire staying with us?”

Dick rolled his eyes.  “Alright, well, maybe later then.”

Lip chuckled.  “Alright.”

 

* * *

 

 

Dick had been pacing in the kitchen for twenty minutes when Nix’s door cracked open and the vampire emerged, wearing jeans and a charcoal Henley with the sleeves rolled up.  It hugged his body in all the right places, and with his hair still a bit messy from sleep, he looked good.  Really good.  Dick’s mouth went dry.

“Hey.”  Nix said, moving past him to open the fridge and pull out a bottle of blood.

“Hey.”  Dick croaked.  He needed to relax.  Like _now._ It was just Nix.  Same person as always.  It didn’t matter that Dick knew what he tasted like now, or knew that little groaning sound he made in the back of his throat when Dick kissed him, or the exact weight of Nix pushing him against a wall, or…. Dick cleared his throat.  “Harry called earlier.  He’s working a case a couple hours north of here, and he wanted to know if you and I were willing to back him up.”

Nix quirked a brow.  “You and me?”

Dick shrugged.  “He’s curious.”

Nix chuckled and took a large gulp of blood.  “He’s a good friend of yours, right?  So he won’t try to stake me when I meet him?”

Dick frowned.  “No, he won’t.”  He stopped pacing so that he could fix Nix in his earnest gaze.  “I wouldn’t ask you if I thought it was a trap.”

“Alright.”

“Alright?  Does that mean yes?”

“Sure, Dick.  We can go help your friend.  But first I need to eat something.  And I want to drive.”

Dick shrugged.  “Sure.  I’ll go call Harry and let him know we’ll be there in a couple hours.”

 

 

 

The sun had just dipped behind the horizon when they pulled out of the drive.  Dick relaxed back into the cool, creamy leather bench seat and did his best not to stare at Nix, who looked cool and collected in the driver’s seat.  They sped their way through the dusk, the wind ruffling their hair as they drove.  Dick was pretty sure Nix broke every single speed limit, but he decided not to mention it.  In fact, Dick had decided to say nothing at all.  He couldn’t really think of anything helpful, and anything else would be opening up a can of worms.

They’d been driving for nearly an hour when Nix glanced over at him and said “So…are we not gonna talk about it, then?”

Dick felt the heat rise in his face, and he was suddenly back there, again—hand wound into Nix’s hair, panting into Nix’s mouth, moaning for Pete’s sake.  “Nix….”

“Because I’d like to talk about it.”

“What do you want me to say, Nix?”

“Christ, Dick, I dunno… just give me some idea of where your head’s at, maybe?  I mean, you bolted out of there so fast….  And I thought…well.”

Dick sighed.  “Can we talk about it after the hunt?”

Nix frowned, huffing a frustrated breath.  “Fine.  But can you at least tell me whether I fucked up or not?  Because honestly, Dick, I’m gonna go out of my mind, otherwise.  Like… do I need to keep my hands to myself from now on?  Do I need to pack my bag when we get back?  Where are we at?”

Dick glanced over to meet Nix’s eyes, just briefly.  “You didn’t do anything wrong, Nix.  I just… need to think about it a bit, is all.”

“So you’re not mad at me?”

“No, I’m not mad at you.  We’ll talk after, alright?”

“Okay.”  Nix’s shoulders relaxed and he focused on the road once more.

 

* * *

 

 

Harry stood outside his room having a smoke when headlights streamed across the parking lot of the roadside motel.  Harry raised his eyebrows in appreciation when he saw that Dick and Nix had pulled up in a light blue Chevelle convertible.  It was beautiful and pristine and he just bet that all the parts were original.  Harry whistled low and strode toward the car.  “Wow, that sure is a beauty.”

“Thanks.”  Nix ( _the vampire_ ) said as he climbed gracefully from the driver’s seat.

“And you must be Lewis Nixon,” Harry said, coming forward and extending his hand.  “I’m Harry Welsh.  Heard a lot about you.”

Nix took his hand and shook it easily.  “Likewise.”

While they shook, Harry took a moment to get a good look at this guy.  Immediately, a couple things were made obvious.  First, this guy looked deceptively human, and deceptively harmless.  Two, he was a very handsome guy—Dick had been holding out on him.  And a whole lot of their recent conversations suddenly made more sense now.  _Dick, you poor bastard._

“Dick, good to see you.”  Harry said, making his way around the car to embrace his friend and pat him on the back.  Harry didn’t bother saying _You let the vampire drive?  Damn, you DO trust him, don’t you?_ Instead, he just quirked a brow and motioned toward the car.  Dick shrugged and decided not to comment.  “Thanks for coming, guys.  Let’s head inside and I’ll fill you in on the case.”

Dick followed Harry into the motel room, but then stopped just inside, saying “Harry….”

Harry turned, wondering what that tone was about, and realized that Nix stood on the threshold of the door, looking a bit bored and a bit embarrassed.  Like this happened often enough for him to be over it, but also like he didn’t want to look bad in front of Dick.  “Oh, right.”  Harry said.  “Come in, Nix.”

“Thanks.”  Nix said, stepping through the door.  He ran a hand through his hair (probably to hide his nerves—what in the world did _he_ have to feel nervous about?  Harry was the one who’d just invited a vampire into his goddamn sleeping quarters.)

Harry took a seat on his bed, leaving the table and two chairs open.  Dick took one, though Nix decided to remain standing, hovering just at Dick’s shoulder.  _And isn’t that interesting,_ Harry thought to himself, _they look awfully comfortable being so close to each other.  I’m gonna have to watch this guy._   “So: the ghoul.  Local reports are saying that it’s hanging out in an abandoned house about ten minutes from here.  Mostly lurking in the local cemetery, but some pets have been coming up missing in the nearby neighborhoods.  And you know, once they start with pets, they tend to progress pretty quickly after that.”

“So what’s the plan?”  Dick asked.

“Figure if all three of us head in there at the same time, we can make sure we’ve got it trapped.  Then, you know.  Light it up.”

Behind Dick, Nix flinched.  But that wasn’t the weird part—obviously one monster might feel a bit of sympathy for another monster, especially if they could both die in the same way.  The weird part was that Dick turned just as Nix flinched and their eyes locked for just a second.  Just long enough for Nix’s shoulders to relax a fraction.  Then Dick turned back toward Harry like it’d never happened.  Harry wondered if Dick even realized what he’d done.  _Well, damn._

“Sounds like a plan,” Dick said.  “When do you want to do this?”

“Well, considering you two are on a tight schedule, I’d say we should head over there now, if you’re up for it.”

Nix nodded his assent.  “Sure.”  Dick added.

“Great.  I’ll drive.”  Then Harry grabbed his keys and bag of supplies and headed out toward his Range Rover, not waiting for the others to follow. 

Harry had just turned the key in the ignition when both back doors opened and Nix and Dick crawled in.  Harry couldn’t help noticing that he couldn’t see Nix in his rearview mirror.  He jerked and turned back to see that the vampire was sitting behind the passenger seat, while Dick sat behind Harry.  Honestly, Harry had thought that Dick would ride shotgun like he always used to, but he found it interesting that it hadn’t even come up in discussion—he’d just crawled in the back with the vampire.  “So, uh… no reflection, huh?  How’s that?”

Nix snorted.  “It’s a challenge to do my hair, I’ll tell ya.”

Dick turned to the vampire, a frown on his face.  “I guess I never noticed,” he said.  “So…no reflection.  What else?”

“No pictures.  Cameras don’t work.”

Dick scoffed.  “No.  No, way.  I’ve spoken to you on video chat.   I _saw_ you.”  _And okay, wow, they were VIDEO CHATTING?!  What was that all about?  Why in the world would they have to video chat?  In what context?  Were they like…._   Harry cut off his own train of thought, deciding not to go there.

Nix smiled at him indulgently.  “Yeah, it’s an interesting anomaly.  For some reason, video chat works, but if you used your phone to try to take a picture, it just wouldn’t catch.  Nothing would show up.  It’s like…the image just slips away.  I don’t know why.”

“Let me see,” Dick grumbled, pulling his phone from his pocket.  He held it up to the vampire.  Nix simply smirked and quirked a brow.  Dick took the picture, then cursed under his breath when he looked at the phone.  “What the…?  Really?”

“Yep.”

“So… you haven’t had your picture taken since you were turned?”

“Nope.”  Nix quirked a brow and it seemed like he was trying to convey something meaningful.  It apparently worked because Dick bowed his head and _actually blushed._ And Harry was definitely missing something, there.  He’d have to ask later, if he had time.

 

 

 

They arrived at the abandoned house ten minutes later.  “Alright, guys, you ready to trap this thing?”

“Yeah, we’re on it, Harry.”  Dick reached into a pocket and pulled out a silver crucifix.  _Good,_ Harry thought, and he turned so that he could catch the look on Nix’s face.  He didn’t look particularly perturbed, but still Dick said “Sorry, Nix.”

Nix shrugged.  “Nothing to be sorry about.  I told you that you should start carrying one.”  _And THAT was very interesting as well. What the hell kind of vampire encouraged their intended snack to carry vamp-repellant?_ Nix cleared his throat.  “Let’s go.”

The house had been abandoned for a long time—the shutters hung off their hinges, it slanted slightly to the right and half the shingles were missing from the roof.  Harry decided to take the front door while Dick, armed with a machete, went around back, followed unsurprisingly by Nix.  Harry approached the window to the left of the door and peeked in.  Inside was a mess—moldy old furniture, collapsing ceilings, and… bones and trash all over the floor.  Harry’s eyes hardened as he went into full hunting mode.  Inside was an undead creature that had already started to eat living things.  Usually, Harry knew what to do with those. 

He crept along to the next window, trying to catch sight of any movement from inside the house.  Suddenly, his phone vibrated and he glanced at it for just a second—it was Dick, giving him the go-ahead.  Harry dumped the gasoline he’d brought in a line across the front of the house, then, hearing a window shatter at the back of the house, dropped a match and lit the thing up.  Then, he took a few steps back to watch and wait—if the ghoul made it out of the house, Harry would be ready to cut it down with his own handy machete.

He heard a shout from the other side of the house and he took off in that direction.  He swung around the corner just in time to see Nix shove a hand out and knock the ghoul back, where it collapsed on the ground.  A moment later, Dick strode up to it and, with his machete, hacked its head off with a couple swift blows.  After the work was done, Dick staggered backwards and Nix caught him and steadied him.  Dick turned and looked the vampire up and down, murmured “You alright?”

Nix nodded, his hands running along Dick’s arms before settling.  “Fine.  You?”

“I’m good.”

“Alright.”  Nix’s hands slid away from Dick and they both turned to glance at Harry, as if just noticing that he was there.

“Got it,” Dick said, motioning to the headless body.

“Yeah, good job.  You wanna help me haul it up to the house now, so that we can get rid of the body?  I hate having to explain these things.”

“Right.” Dick said, then, curling a lip at the acrid black blood pouring from the neck wound, he helped Harry to heave the body up and through the door of the burning house.  Nix watched with a vacant look on his face.

After the body was disposed of, Nix gave Dick a once over again.  “You’ve got ghoul blood all over your shirt.”

Dick glanced down at himself.  “Damn.”  Then, his eyes flew up to Nix’s.  “Is it…uh…do you?”

Nix shook his head softly.  “It’s not a problem.”  He waved his hand.  “It’s dead, decomposed…probably about as appetizing to me as it is to you.”  He took a single step toward Dick and inhaled, nose wrinkling.  “But you smell disgusting now.  And it’s definitely going to stain.”

Dick huffed.  “I’ll change back at the motel.”

So, job done, they piled back into Harry’s Range Rover and headed back to the motel.

True to his word, once they arrived, Dick fished a clean shirt out of his bag and went into the bathroom to get cleaned up.  As soon as the door was shut, Harry turned to Nix, who didn’t look surprised at all by this turn of events.  “So… I guess this is the part where I grill you on your intentions and warn you not to fuck with my friend.”

Nix quirked a brow.  “Well, you should hurry up then—we both know how damn quick and efficient Dick is.”

Harry couldn’t help a snort.  “So what’s going on with the two of you?”

“I feel like that’s something you should probably ask Dick.”

“Well what are your intentions?  I’ve been watching the two of you together. I can’t quite figure it out.”

Nix chuckled.  “My intentions?  I thought I was the old-fashioned one here.”  He shrugged, the smirk sliding from his lips.  “I don’t intend to hurt him, if that’s what you mean.”

“It’s not, but I think you already know that.”

“I don’t know what you want from me, then.”

“You’re friends.”

Nix nodded.  “Yeah, I think we are.”

“Is that all?”

Nix shrugged.  “I don’t know.”

Harry felt a chill go down his spine.  “Look, Dick’s told me that you’ve been helping him, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt here.  But I want you to understand something.  That man is like a brother to me.  And he and I are part of a vast hunter network that stretches across this country.  Every one of those hunters cares about and respects Dick.  If you ever were to hurt him, in any way, I want you to understand that there’s not a goddamn place in this country where you’d be safe.  Do we understand each other?”

Nix’s eyes flickered across Harry’s face, assessing, then he nodded.  “I’m glad Dick’s got such good friends.  He lives a dangerous life.”

Harry snorted.  “More dangerous every day,” he said, making sure that Nix knew, without a doubt, that he was referring to him. 

Just then, the bathroom door opened and Dick shuffled out, obviously having cleaned and now wearing a dark green t-shirt.  In his peripheral vision, Harry noticed a real smile spread across Nix’s face at Dick’s appearance.  Dick smiled back at him.  “Better?”

Nix chuckled, suddenly looking bashful.  “Much.  I definitely wasn’t letting you into my car like that.”

Dick rolled his eyes.  Then he turned toward Harry.  “It’s getting about time for us to head back.  You good?”

Harry nodded.  “Yeah, I’m all good here.  Gonna head back to Kitty in the morning, after I get some sleep.  Thanks to both of you for the help.  I appreciate it.”  Then he embraced Dick one more time.  After the hunter stepped away, Harry held his hand out to Nix for a parting shake.  “Nice meeting you Nix.  See you around.”

Nix smiled, as if their previous conversation had never happened.  “Yeah, same.”  Then, “You ready, Dick?  Let’s go.”

“Take care of yourself, Harry,” Dick said at the door, “and tell Kitty I said hi.  I’ll make sure to come visit again soon.”

“Will do.  Drive safe.”  Dick was almost out the door when Harry said “Wait!  Dick, I almost forgot…I think we might have found Lip’s shifter.  Don’t mention it to him yet, just in case, but, uh…I’m pretty sure.  The name was Luz, right?  George Luz?”

Dick nodded, eyes wide.  “Yeah, that’s him.”

Harry grimaced.  “I thought so.  Well, one of my sources reported that there’s a guy goes by that name in Philly.  Only, he’s living with the Philly pack.”

Dick frowned.  “Werewolves?”

“Yeah.  So, uh…I need to investigate some more, see what’s going on with this guy, but just keep an ear out, alright?  Hopefully we’ll have some answers for Lip soon.”

Dick smiled.  “Thanks Harry.”

Then they were out the door and Harry was alone in the room again. He moved to look through the blinds as Dick and Nix climbed back into the Chevelle.  Nix said something and Dick laughed, a genuine smile on his face.  Nix grinned back at him.  Then, they pulled out of the parking lot and were gone.

Harry closed the blinds and sat back on his bed, joints creaking in protest.  He was exhausted and he missed Kitty.  He always missed Kitty when one of them was away on a hunt, even if it was only for a night. 

Watching Dick and Nix interact with each other had given Harry quite a lot to think about.  They were obviously comfortable around each other, in each other’s space.  Dick seemed to be in a decent mood, even if he had been grouchy earlier in the day.  This…whatever it was between them definitely warranted some further monitoring.  Because, well…the way they’d looked at each other, anticipated each other’s reactions… it was a pretty intimate thing.  And Harry had a pretty good guess why.  He only hoped that Dick knew what he was doing, and that Nix had paid close attention to Harry’s warning.

 

* * *

 

 

 

Ron opened the door, hair artfully mussed, top shirt button undone, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, feet bare.  Carwood’s heart leapt wildly in his chest.  “Hey, you made it.”  Ron took a step back, “Come on in.”

Carwood made his way into the minimalist-style studio.  “Brought this,” he said, holding up a bottle of wine.  “Don’t know if it’s any good, but I didn’t want to come empty handed.”

“It’s great,” Ron said, leaning in to take the bottle and brushing a soft kiss against Carwood’s cheek as he did so.  “And you didn’t have to bring anything other than yourself—you’re definitely enough.”

Carwood blushed and looked around.  On one side of the large space was a small kitchen separated from a cozy living room by a breakfast bar.  On the other side of the space was a large bed, precisely made, and a partially cracked door that led to the bathroom.  “You have a nice apartment.”  Carwood said.  “Thanks for having me over.”

“It suits me just fine,” Ron said, setting the bottle of wine on the counter, before he made his way back toward Carwood.  “And you’re always welcome.”  He leaned forward and kissed Carwood, warm lips brushing against the hunter’s.  “I’m happy to have you here,” he murmured, brushing his lips over Carwood’s jaw.  He moved in closer, so that their bodies pressed together.  He brushed a hand through Carwood’s hair, cupped the back of his neck.  “Is this alright?”  He asked, lips skimming over the skin just under Carwood’s ear.

Carwood shivered and his eyes flickered closed.  “Yeah,” he croaked.  He cleared his throat.  “It’s, uh…it’s good.”

“I’ve been thinking about you.  A lot.  About last night.”

“I was drunk,” Carwood protested.  “I was rude.  Dragging you into that alleyway like that.”

“You were sexy,” Ron corrected.  “I like a man who knows what he wants.”  Carwood groaned as Ron’s lips skimmed over his throat.  “So, do you?”  Ron asked.  “Know what you want?”

“Y-yes,” Carwood stuttered.  “This. I want this.  Please.”

Ron’s hand drifted down over Carwood’s chest, rested on his belt.  “This?  Is this what you want?”

Carwood gulped.  “Yes.”

“You want to let me take care of you?”

“Yes,” Carwood gasped, as Ron’s fingers dipped below his waistband.

“Mmmmm… gonna take care of you so good.”  Then Ron turned them and leaned forward, sealing his lips against Carwood’s.  Carwood groaned, low in his throat.  Ron led him backwards, reaching to pull Carwood’s shirt up his chest and over his head, tossing it into the corner as they went.  Suddenly, the backs of Carwood’s knees bumped the bed and he collapsed onto it, Ron following him down, crouching over him, straddling him.

And then everything was a blur of sensation: hot, panting, wet, moaning.  Ron unzipped him, then peeled his pants off, all while he was still clothed.  Carwood reached for him, but Ron pressed his hands into the bed and went back to his business.

Carwood clenched his eyes and fisted his hands in the sheets when Ron dipped his head and breathed against the inside of his thigh, then closer, then Carwood had to hold back a breathy scream when the wet heat of Ron’s mouth engulfed him.  “Oh God,” Carwood hissed, hands twisting further into the sheets.  “Oh, God,” he moaned, as Ron moved along his shaft, kissing and licking and sucking.  Carwood thought his heart might explode.  He’d never felt anything like…this…before. 

Suddenly, Ron’s hand was prying Carwood’s from the sheets, moving it to tangle in the man’s hair.  “Like that,” Ron huffed, breathy.  “Just like that.”  And then he went back to what he’d been doing.  Carwood moaned, head tipping back, throat working, as his fingers twisted in Ron’s hair.

By the time Carwood came, he had tears leaking from the corners of his eyes and he felt like he’d been taken apart then put back together again.  Kneeling next to him, Ron unfastened his pants and jerked himself off, staring at Carwood while he did.  And that… that was more than Carwood could take.  He closed his eyes and whined in pure, overwhelming emotion.  Next to him, Ron groaned, then collapsed next to him.

 

 

They must have dozed.  When Carwood opened his eyes, he still lay in bed, naked, but a sheet had been pulled up to his waist.  Ron lay next to him, head perched on his hand, observing him.  Carwood blushed when everything flooded back to him.  “Hey,” he said.

Ron smirked, hazel eyes dancing.  “Hey.”  He leaned forward, brushed a kiss against Carwood’s cheek.  “You alright?”

Carwood smiled.  “Yeah.”

“Good.”  Then Ron went back to his gazing, and Carwood closed his eyes again, feeling more relaxed than he had been in recent memory.  Then he felt the soft touch of fingertips on his other cheek, tracing along the ugly line of his scar.  “How did this happen?”  Ron asked.

_Fire, blood, fangs, screams, pain, fear_ flooded through Carwood’s mind, but he pushed it away.  Now was not the time and this…in bed with Ron, after they’d just done _that…_ was not the place for those bad memories.  Carwood forced himself to shrug.  “It was a home invasion.”  He said, being as honest as he could with someone who could not know that Carwood was a hunter, who could not know about the strange, dark world that he walked in.  “But I’m okay now.”

Ron stared down at him for a moment, hazel eyes bright, before he brushed his thumb over the scar once more.  “Yes, you are.”  He said.  Then he leaned in and kissed him. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

When they got back a couple hours before dawn, they found the house empty.  Dick immediately felt a shiver go up his spine.  _They were alone._

Behind him, Nix closed the door and leaned against it, arms crossed.  “So.  Can we have that talk, now?”

“Nix,” Dick sighed, “are you sure you wanna do this now?”

“Yeah.”  Nix pushed off the door and took the couple steps needed to reach Dick.  He hovered directly in front of the hunter, but didn’t attempt to touch him.  “I like to know where I stand, Dick.”

Dick stared at him—dark, deep eyes, furrowed brow, the hint of strain in his shoulders—and decided not to fight anymore.  “Last night, you and I… we, uh….”

“I know what we did, Dick.”

“And what we almost….”

Nix’s eyes fluttered shut, and he swallowed hard.  “Yeah, almost.”  Nix opened heavy-lidded eyes and stared back at Dick.  “I want to know how you feel about it.”

“Can I ask you a personal question?”

Nix shrugged.  “Go ahead.”

“When we were kissing, when you were touching me….”

“Yeah?”  Nix gulped, obviously remembering very vividly.

“Did you want to bite me?  Did you want my blood?”

Suddenly, Nix jerked back, like someone had dumped a bucket of cold water on his head.  “Huh?”

“Come on, Nix.  You said you’d always be honest with me.”

Nix sighed, running a hand over the back of his neck.  He cast his dark gaze up at Dick.  “Yes.  Alright?”  He took a deep breath, let it out.  “Yes, I did.  I wanted it.  I always do, Dick.  But…I didn’t do it.  I wouldn’t.  I told you.  I _ask._ That matters to me.”

“I know.  And I believe you.  I do.  But…Nix…I just can’t help thinking that this is crazy.  So crazy.  I’m a hunter, for Pete’s sake!  You’re a vampire.  I mean, that’s crazy, isn’t it?”

Nix shook his head.  “I thought we agreed that we were both more than just those things.  It doesn’t have to define us.”

Dick’s shoulders slumped.  “I’m not mad about last night, Nix.  It was…my fault.  I started it.  But…I don’t know if it can happen again.”  He shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from reaching out.  “I value our friendship, Nix.  I do.  I don’t know how it happened, but… we _are_ friends, and I care about that.  I don’t want this to change that.  But… I don’t know what I think about the whole thing, yet.  It goes against everything I was taught.  I’m not…comfortable…knowing that’s what you want from me.”

Nix’s mouth dropped open—shock, maybe an aborted protest.  “Dick,” he whispered, taking that step forward into Dick’s space.  “That’s definitely not all I want from you.”  He reached out a hand, then stopped, dropped it back to his side.

“I’m sorry, Nix.”

Nix nodded, throat working.  “I get it.  Do, uh… do you want me to head out?”

“What?”  Dick frowned.  “No.  Nix, I told you earlier, I don’t want you to leave.  I don’t want that.  I don’t…I don’t know _what_ I want, but I know I don’t want you to go.”  He pulled his hands out of his pockets, took a step forward, and placed them on Nix’s shoulders.  “Can’t we just… go back to before that moment?  Can’t we just be friends?”

Nix stared at him, like he thought Dick was crazy, like he thought it was impossible.  But he nodded sharply, took a step away from Dick’s hands so that they dropped, and said “Yeah, Dick.  We can do that.”  He cast his gaze toward the still-dark window, and said “I’m beat.  I think I’m gonna turn in early.”

“Nix…” Dick said, reaching for the vampire as he retreated.

“Sleep well, Red.”  Nix smiled at him, but it was sad, and his eyes seemed to glitter.  Then he shut the office door, and Dick was left standing there in the living room, all alone, wondering what the hell he’d just done.

**Author's Note:**

> Gotta love that angst, right? Anyway, comments are love! Let me know what you think. And feel free to come say hi on tumblr. I'm @realhunterswearplaid.


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